Portsmouth Youth Football playing the safety angle

PORTSMOUTH — Youth football coaches are fighting a battle on two fronts these days.

Mike Zhe

PORTSMOUTH — Youth football coaches are fighting a battle on two fronts these days.

The first is one most of them have signed on for — teach the fundamentals of the sport to kids in elementary school all the way up to junior high. Help them develop a love of the sport so they can play it through adolescence and, for a select few, even beyond that.

The other battle? Just getting kids to play football in the first place.

Youth football participation, according to several published studies, is dwindling. As concussions and brain trauma have become hot-button topics at all levels of the game, and parental concerns grow about safety, many kids are simply bypassing the sport or giving it up.

According to a report from the Sport & Fitness Injury Association last year, participation among youths ages 6-12 dropped a whopping 35 percent between 2007 and 2011.

Other studies show a more conservative decline, which many feel to be around 20 percent. It's still a drop that stands out when one recognizes that youths, today, are participating in sports at the highest rate ever.

Locally, one organization received a nice opportunity to do something about it, from a safety angle.

The Portsmouth Youth Football Association recently got the news that it was one of two organizations in New Hampshire selected to adopt a national pilot safety program developed by USA Football, the official youth development partner of the NFL. The Manchester East Cobras were the other.

"They came to us," said John Iafolla, the coaching coordinator for the PYFA. "They're doing 100 (organizations) nationally, two per state. They kind of have a feel for what kind of program we run. We're very safety-conscious. And it doesn't cost us anything."

"The health and safety of every youth player is USA Football's No. 1 priority," said USA Football executive director Scott Hallenbeck. "These Portsmouth-area leagues show exceptional dedication to their players, parents and coaches."

PYFA sponsors four divisions, three of them tackle: flag (grades 1-2), youth tackles (grades 3-4), Little Clippers (grades 5-6) and Junior Clippers (grades 7-8) for players from Portsmouth, Rye, Greenland, Newington and New Castle. It figures to have roughly 200 participants and 30 volunteer coaches for its season, which begins in August.

Iafolla, who also serves as the offensive coordinator of the Portsmouth High School football team, said PYFA began getting involved with USA Football "five or six years ago," taking advantage of things like safety advancement, coaching certification programs and grant money for equipment.

"It's a great tool for any youth program to utilize," he said.

With concussions, the initiative aims to educate not only coaches, but players and parents. In any contact sport, it's critical to recognize a concussion not just in games but in practices, where they often occur.

The second point — proper equipment fitting — is one that seems obvious, but one that's overlooked. Helmets, especially, must fit precisely, and players must learn how to make sure they are fitting precisely to reduce the risk.

"They say that's one of the biggest reasons why concussions happen," said Iafolla. "Chin straps will loosen. Kids will get a haircut. ...; All that affects it."

With tackling, the program vies to teach coaches the proper technique — "taking the head out of the game" — so they can institute "trained motion" during drills, to the point where tackling safer becomes second nature.

"Heads-up tackling is the best way for a young football player to be a really good tackler," said former NFL linebacker Ken Norton Jr., in a USA Football promotional video.

Iafolla will attend a seminar put on by USA Football this summer, where he will learn the step-by-step protocols. He will then teach all the PYFA volunteer coaches, making sure they have passed USA Football's accredited Level 1 Coach Certification Course. before the first practices begin in August.

PYFA considers itself proactive when it comes to player safety. It recently obtained 240 new helmets for the players in its program, the number its participation peaked at a few years ago.

There figures to be about 200 kids in the program this fall. Like in other places, Portsmouth Youth Football is fighting to keep its sport an attractive option, and with this Heads Up Football initiative, it thinks it has taken another step in that direction.

"It's America's favorite sport," said Hallenbeck. "We need to be the guardians of the game. We need to protect this."

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